
  --
  winter
  by myth (myth@inquo.net)

  readme file
  --
  
  This game grew from a seed of desperation and jealousy.  After more or
  less stumbling upon mono's Summer '98 24-hour competition, I found 
  myself with a strong desire to return to zzt.  In fact I was desperate 
  to do anything at all, since for a long time (since HQSE) my mind had
  completely failed to produce any viable ideas for megazeux.  After
  nightplanet, I saw a tremendous influx of terrific zzt games, including
  pop and edible v0mit which, along with my rediscovery of kudzu and
  bizanloo, made me horrifically jealous of the vision of these games'
  makers.  These are games of atmosphere, games of meaning, games that
  come the closest to the pure art possible in zzt.  Jealousy, then, I
  would claim is the mother of invention and in that spirit I took the
  bits and pieces of zzt ideas I had scribbled since Fred!2 and began to
  put them together.

  The result of this conglomeration (along with a bit of inspiration from
  myst) is winter, my first (non 24-hour) zzt game in several years.  Its
  creation took place mostly in the months of may and june in 1999,
  picking up momentum after I finished high school.  

  Like its predecessors, winter is a game based on atmosphere, instinct and
  intelligence.  In some ways (whether good or bad), winter takes these
  tenets to an extreme.  This has several ramifications for the player:

  1. The concept of atmosphere over all else is best shown by the fact
  that winter uses only a very small amount of text.  I've always been
  disappointed by the ugly way that zzt presents words -- in that cutesy
  little scrolling blue thingy that gives you no control.  In winter I
  made a conscious effort to avoid using any such zzt pop-up text
  dialogues.  The result of this is that most puzzles must be figured out
  through other means -- through sight, sound, and intuition.

  2. The means of sound is very important to winter.  I realize that many
  people find the scratchings of the pc bleeper hard on the ears.
  Nevertheless, its use is necessary to complete the game.  Many puzzles
  are solved easiest through audio clues.

  3. The game has very little story.  Originally I intended it to be a 
  deep disturbing tale but (for better or worse) I ended up with
  something completely different.  Interpret the game as you will.  I
  have my own ideas about the story of the game towards which I have
  pushed the design, but in the end, you will have to decide what it
  means for yourself.  Again, winter is about atmosphere, not plot.

  Below I provide some hints (though not a walkthrough or spoiler by any
  means) that will help you through the game.

  * Be observant.  Everything that you see in winter has importance.
  There are no red herrings.  The color, shape, and position of everything
  has some sort of significance.  Stay alert and explore your
  surroundings.  This game has no instant deaths and you will find it
  very difficult to die.

  * Save often.  Most of the puzzles in winter are non-destructive -- that
  is, you can try them over and over again without restoring your game.
  However, there are some few (e.g., the bomb puzzle in the mesa) that
  you only get one shot at, and it *is* possible to foul up the game
  beyond repair (by, for instance, not using your purple keys).  As with
  all zzt games, saving is the best policy.

  * Don't get frustrated.  If you're stuck, take a break and try again
  later.  There is nothing in winter that can't be solved.  As Rand and
  Robyn Miller put it, think as though you were really there.  I'll
  answer any questions that you have via e-mail (myth@inquo.net), but
  remember that I don't really care if you cheat.

  Though it won't necessarily help you win the game, the recommended
  playing conditions for winter are these: play it in the middle of the
  night, with all lights out, in a large silent room.  If anyone ever
  plays the game while on hallucinogens, please contact me and describe
  the experience. :)

  Lastly, I'd like to thank a few people for their influence on this game.
  In particular, I am deeply in debt to the grandmasters of the art, cly5m 
  and tucan, whose respective works (kudzu and pop) have had an obvious and 
  pervasive influence on my zzt style.  kudzu's clean graphics and pop's 
  tongue-in-cheek mystery have made winter the game that it is.  I also
  tip my hat to Damien Wellman, whose Emanon gave me ideas for many
  portions of the game, especially the mesa.

  I'd like to thank my good friends yenrab, xf, creator and majiCk, who,
  after I mentioned the idea of a textless game, didn't laugh too hard.
  (Here's hoping that Fred!3 and Llama Masters 3 come out sometime before
  we all get old and grey.) I also thank my betatesters immensely for
  doing a great job.  Special greetings to all the megazeux folk who once
  abandoned zzt -- thanks for taking a look again on my account.
  Greetings to all the denizens of the zzt-related channels on austnet
  which, despite their faults, definitely have their good moments.
  Finally, greetings and thanks to all the zzt designers out there who
  are keeping this oddball art alive.  Keep up the good work.

  (I suppose I should also greet the following people who will most 
  definitely never see this but have had an influence nonetheless:
  greetings to Rand and Robyn Miller, Roger Waters, Thom Yorke, Beth
  Gibbons, Miles Davis, Bjorn Lynne, Gustav Holst, and Pokey the Penguin.)

  Pseudo-legal stuff: winter is copyright 1999 by me.  Feel free to
  distribute it in its unmodified form (accompanied by this text file).
  This game is e-mailware: if you enjoyed it, you're obligated to send
  me a note by e-mail (myth@inquo.net).  If you don't, my lawyers will
  hunt you down and give you a wedgie.
  
  Thanks for downloading and playing.

  Adam Parrish
  myth@inquo.net
  http://www.inquo.net/~myth/zzt/

  5 July 1999

  --
